Instead of the traditional categories ranging from Excellent with Distinction to Academic Emergency, these report cards have letter grades in multiple categories – changes that make it impossible to compare these report cards to those in years past. For example: The old Excellent with Distinction does not equal an “A” under the new rating system, nor does the previous lowest rating of Academic Emergency equal an “F.”

Ross, however, said the new ones give much more detail – much of which may be “painful” for districts.

For example, some districts that previously were rated Excellent with Distinction got D’s and F’s in some categories, such as how well they educate children with disabilities.

“Some of this is going to be painful. But I believe you have to deal with data up front,” said Ross. “Clearly schools and districts will see lower grades than in the past.”

In Greater Cincinnati, only 19 of the 49 districts avoided getting D’s or F’s on district report cards. Virtually

Muddying the waters is the fact that each school and district will receive up to nine letter grades in different categories, but they won’t have one overall grade. Those don’t come until 2015.

The state warned not to try to average this year’s grades to try to determine overall performance of a school or district, it would be wrong.

That’s frustrating for parents, who say they still want to know if what had been an Excellent district last year earns an A or an F this year.

“That would be bothersome,” said Teresa Kitzmann, a parent of twin boys attending Elmwood Place Elementary.

The new report cards show the region’s largest district with some troubled categories, Cincinnati Public Schools officials said this morning.

Cincinnati Public schools Superintendent Mary Ronan said the new report cards show a significant drop from last year because it added new measures and a stricter accountability system.

She said the performance of the district is actually similar to last year, when it was rated in Continuous Improvement. It's performance index score, a composite of student test scores, dipped just one point from last year and third grade reading levels improved.

But on paper, parents will see six Fs, two Cs and one D.

Hartwell and Sands Montessori, two schools that were Excellent with Distinction last year, each had at least one F on the new report card. The district’s gifted school, Hyde Park, earned only a C in the gifted category. The academic powerhouse Walnut Hills High School, which Ronan’s daughter attends, got mostly As, but also two Fs.

Walnut principal Jeff Brokamp was not concerned. Ohio is in the process of transitioning to new curriculum standards and new tests. Many educators thought the state should have waited until the transition was finished before overhauling the grading system.

We have other business that we think is more important than chasing a test that we think is a bad test,” said Brokamp. “So we didn’t and we wont. We have a curriculum we use that’s time tested and proven. That’s what we use.”

Ronan expects the district’s dip will be temporary. “Our educators will meet this higher bar in the years to come.”

The previous ranking system, Ross said, concealed areas in which schools were doing a poor job on educating some “subgroups” of students, such as such as minorities, those with disabilities or English language learners.

“If a school or district gets a lower grade than expected, that doesn’t necessarily mean students got a poorer education than they did the year before,” he said. “But schools will have to work to meet higher expectations.”

There will be no punitive ramifications for districts receiving poor grades this year, although years of failure will trigger a review by an Academic Distress Commission. Rather, the report cards should be used to inform the public and improve education, Ross said.

Still, not everyone is happy about the new system.

Some school district officials have said they expect some unflattering grades, some that might not be merited.

Mason officials said the new report cards do not give a comprehensive picture.

“Rankings matter, but they often don't tell the whole story. While we're proud that our children are performing at some of the very highest levels in the state, there is more to a high quality education than what’s measured on the state tests," said Mason Superintendent Gail Kist-Kline.

“It is increasingly important that we personalize education for each student. We need to meet students where they are, and maximize their potential,” said Kist-Kline.

Despite the new grading system, Mason schools remained among the top 10 academic performers in the state.

At Southwest Ohio’s second largest district – Lakota Schools in Butler County – under the previous rating system the district had earned the state’s highest academic rating of “Excellent with Distinction.”

But under the new report cards some elementaries graded at Ds and Fs in categories that measure annual measurable objectives: A newly created measure of the achievement gaps between the general student populace and certain disadvantaged student groups called subgroups.

The subgroups include ethnic minorities, economically disadvantaged students, students with disabilities and those learning English.

Lakota Superintendent Karen Mantia said district officials are still sorting through data >>>>>

And a few parents said they don’t trust any report card that is based mostly on state tests given once a year.

Jeffrey Jordan, father of a Mount Healthy sophomore, said report cards have painted an incomplete picture of how teachers at the junior/senior high school “show a huge interest in my son’s education.”

“I’ve seen a lot of progress in my son’s academics,” he said. “I’d give (the school) an A minus or a B.”

The new report cards “are absolutely not” accurate, says Mimi Webb, superintendent of St. Bernard-Elmwood Place schools. She said she anticipates some unflattering grades that she believes are undeserved.

“I have teachers who are working very, very hard with students, covering a high level of material,” Webb said. “They’re measuring things based on a kid taking one test for two hours. That’s a myopic ... and unfair way to look at children.”

The long-awaited new report cards assign grades for up to nine measures of academics, graduation and attendance patterns in the past year.

Most of the A-F grades will be based on how well students performed on state tests last spring. Some will measure the student scores – giving extra points for high achievers – while others will measure what percent of students passed the tests.

Still other grades will measure whether a year’s worth of growth occurred and others will add or subtract a grade based on how well student “subgroups” keep up with their peers.

Critics of the new rankings say they’re stacked against the districts and schools that have many subgroups because they increase the chances a district can lose a grade or points on the report card.